Curry voter registration numbers on the rise

Curry County’s voter rolls increased by 147 people in the four days leading up to the Oct. 16 registration deadline, bringing the county’s total number of registered voters to 13,850 people.

“That’s a pretty good percentage for a small county,” said deputy clerk Connie Higgins. “We’ve been busy – more than you can even imagine. It’s just a crazy time.”

Curry County’s total population is approximately 22,425, with nearly 18,000 of those people over the age of 18, one of the legal requirements to register.

Voters who have been designated inactive and those who have outdated information on their ballots have until 8 p.m. Election Day, Nov. 6, to update that information and be eligible to vote.

Higgins attributes the recent voter registration activity to a reportedly close presidential election.

The Curry County ballots will also include nine statewide ballot measures and contested races for Brookings mayor, two seats on the Curry County Board of Commissioners, state and national congressional seats, and for secretary of state, state treasurer and attorney general.

The League of Women Voters (LWV), a non-partisan organization created to inform voters about candidates and the issues, registered 17 new voters at its drive at Southwestern Oregon Community College earlier this month.

There, they informed students of the vote411.org website where the LWV posts nonpartisan details about ballot questions.

“The reaction of many students was inspiring,” said local unit president Jan Krick. “They were thrilled to hear they could get impartial information online. Vote411.org is going to do more than provide information to voters. It’s going to motivate them to get involved.”

Even those who have been involved in the voting process for decades learned, as well, she said.

“We got to see firsthand how young people today view the world,” Krick said. “Those of us with an increasing amount of gray hair grew up gathering our information from newspapers, television and radio. Some of us tend to shy away from information that’s available online.